Top Fantasy Football Players In The AFC East

[social_warfare]

This continues our 4-EYED OBSERVATIONS series where we’ll be discussing with you the top fantasy football players per division in the NFL for the upcoming fantasy football season. We’ll be talking offense and IDP, specifically at the QB, RB, WR, TE, LB, DB, & DL positions.

*As a reminder to those who listen to or don’t listen (you really should) to our podcast, all of our projections and insight for IDP players is based on the FANTASY IN FRAMES IDP scoring rubric which we will be using for the 2018 season and in our IDP followers leagues this fall.*

Now that we have that out of the way, below we have broken down our fantasy football topics, position-by-position for you. Without further adieu let’s discuss who we feel are the top fantasy football players to target in your drafts from the AFC East:

QUARTERBACKS: Tom Brady

While Tom Brady has been the class of the AFC East in terms of real football and fantasy football production, one must not ignore his recent finish last season from a fantasy perspective. During weeks 13-16, including during the fantasy playoffs, Brady averaged only 12.3 fppg. That would be the second season in a row he failed to finish strong in fantasy. Let me get this straight, I’m not saying Tom Brady isn’t an elite quarterback for fantasy football. In the Super Bowl this past season he threw for over 500 yards and put up 30.8 fantasy points. Clearly, Brady still has “it”.

However, if the past two seasons are any indication it almost seems like the Patriots are starting to save Brady’s arm towards the end of each season to get him ready for the playoffs. That’s just my assumption, but it makes sense. If that is, indeed, the case then it stands to reason Brady’s draft value should reflect that. As such if I’m looking to draft a QB in round 5 & 6 I would consider Brady, but I would feel much better about drafting him in round 7 if available. Regardless he will be a QB who will get you into your fantasy playoffs, but winning the championship might be another story. Keep that in mind during your drafts.

RUNNING BACKS: LeSean McCoy & Kenyan Drake

LeSean McCoy is an old running back, by NFL standards. They said that about him last season as well. His final 7 games of the season he averaged, in 0.5 PPR leagues, 16.3 fppg. If that is the type of production I can expect from an old running back I’ll take that every day of the week and especially on Sundays. You should, too. That being said I’d be more happy drafting him as my RB2 rather than my RB1. You should, too.

Kenyan Drake was the recipient of good fortune last season via opportunity. Jay Ajayi was traded to Philadelphia and his competition at running back got injured, making him the lead back in Adam Gase’s offense. Despite the drafting of Kalen Ballage and the free-agent signing of Frank Gore, Drake is, for now, the lead running back in this backfield, as he should be. He staked his claim to this backfield by averaging 15.2 fppg over the last 6 games in 2017 and with no other primary established weapons to speak of in Miami’s offense Drake is in a prime position to be the go-to guy for the Dolphins making him a valuable RB2 for any fantasy manager who drafts him.

WIDE RECEIVERS: Chris Hogan & Kenny Stills

Chris Hogan is the sure-fire #1 WR on the Patriots offense. Boom there I said it. Words I never thought I’d utter. In the 8 games played last year, when healthy, Hogan produced 11.6 fppg on a Patriots offense featuring Brandon Cooks and Rob Gronkowski. With Cooks and Danny Amendola now gone, a plethora of targets is coming Hogan’s way making him a viable WR2 with WR1 upside by seasons end.

Kenny Stills will be the best fantasy WR receiver on the Dolphins roster in 2018. Projected to score 9.31 fppg, with no Jarvis Landry, an inconsistent Devante Parkers to compete with, and no other known weapons in the passing game in this offense to speak of (we’ll cover Danny Amendola and Albert Wilson in our podcast) look for Stills to be the consistent deep threat Miami will need/have in many games this season considering they’ll more than likely be playing from behind in many of them.

TIGHT ENDS: Rob Gronkowski & Charles Clay

One’s a matchup nightmare and the other plays a position that is often considered the safety blanket for rookie quarterbacks. As such both should play a prominent role in each team’s offense. Gronk is a top 3 round pick while Charles Clay probably won’t go until the later double-digit rounds in most fantasy drafts. For upside draft Gronk early, but for value don’t overlook Clay!

LINEBACKERS: Avery Williamson & Tremaine Edmonds  

Avery Williamson takes over the middle linebacker spot (MLB) in New York vacated by Demario Davis, who we talked about in our NFC South podcast. Coming off a season in which he tallied 92 total tackles, 3 sacks, and averaged 5.7 fppg playing behind linebacker Wesley Woodyard in Tennessee in terms of production, Williams enters NY as the primary run-stopper in the Jets linebacking corps placing him in the best position to rack up tackle numbers and most importantly fantasy points. Consider him an early double-digit pick in your fantasy drafts with plenty of upside and potential to match or exceed the production his predecessor had in NY last season which was near the top in the league in both real football and fantasy football.

Apparently, I’m just now getting the memo that all of us in the IDP community should be bowing down to the rookie legend that is Trumaine Edmunds. The 16th pick in the 2018 NFL draft out of Virginia Tech has not only showed command of the defense since stepping onto the scene in OTAs and minicamp, but he even has his fellow teammates in awe of his freakish athleticism and presence on the football field. We’re talking more hype than Reuben Foster was getting last year. He’s all but assured the starting MLB position in Buffalo’s 4-3 defense making him one hell of a rookie IDP pick this season due to the sheer amount of tackle opportunities he’s bound to see!

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: Trey Flowers 

Flowers was impressive in 2017 season for an IDP defensive end with 62 total tackles & 6.5 sacks. Entering the last year of his rookie deal, look for Flowers to really turn on the heat in order to get that lucrative long-term contract he undoubtedly will get. He’s the best pass rusher in the AFC East from a real football and fantasy football perspective. Draft him as such!

DEFENSIVE BACKS: Reshad Jones, Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, & Trumaine Johnson 

Many an IDP expert have said Reshad Jones’ days as an IDP superstar are over as a younger T.J. McDonald. who plays more of a hybrid safety/linebacker role, will usurp Jones as the team starting strong safety, and truth be told had the Dolphins not drafted Minkah Fitzpatrick I would have agreed. However, they did which created a bottleneck situation at the safety position which will probably force McDonald down a roster spot. Now, remember they, also, signed Jones to a big contract extension in 2017, so as far as I’m concerned I’m drafting Rashad Jones as if he’ll be one of the top producing DBs in IDP as he was in 2017. You should, too!

Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde averaged 9.3 and 7.6 fppg respectively in 2017. These two make quite the tandem at safety in real and fantasy football and should be considered value picks at the position that you should be able to find in the middle to later rounds of your IDP drafts.

The newest member of the Jets secondary, formerly of the Los Angeles Chargers, Trumaine Johnson had 57 solo tackles, 14 passes defensed, 2 INT’s, 1 TD in 2017, and now looks to bring that type of production to the “Big Apple” as the team’s #1 cornerback. In a division with a couple of inexperienced QB’s and a future hall of fame QB who likes to throw at any and every one, Johnson will look to duplicate the production he had for the Chargers making him a viable fantasy football asset at the cornerback position.

Check out our podcast this week where we’ll be talking more about the AFC East and potential breakouts you could rely on this season!

We’ll see you next week when we’ll be discussing the Top Fantasy Football Players In The AFC West!

As always thanks for checking out FANTASY IN FRAMES!